Filler 40

This post by the lovely Aaron Swartz acts as a handy sidebar to all my blather about derivatives, especially (it seems to me, but my opinions just now should be taken with whatever the saline equivalent is of a bottle and a half of white burgundy) Episode 5. Naturally, I couldn't resist adding my tuppen'orth, for all that the comments have been dormant for some time...

Things were so dull at work yesterday that I took in a double espresso after lunch to keep me awake. This was, of course, a red rag to the fates. With grim inevitability, it was barely an hour before I was mired in hysterical crises while caffeinated to jittery hell.

I'm not much of a coffee drinker.

After a fair bit of talking around the problem with my notional line manager, it became clear that I wasn't going to conclude anything that night and might as well flee to Denise Page's step class at the Y; the right decision, in restrospect, without a shadow of a doubt. Still, even after that -- and Denise's class is mental -- I was jumpy as fuck and didn't think I'd be able to manage trampolining. I cooled off and chatted apologetically with coach Warrick, then showered. On the point of dressing to go, it occurred to me just how silly it would be to depart without at least a quick bounce; it's not as if it's something I can do extempore, thoughtlessly, on a whim. You have to take your trampolining opportunities where you can.

Two and a half hours later we finished up, cleared everything away, and the last stragglers -- Warrick, his girlfriend Anne-Marie and her sweet-but-reckless teenage brother Keith -- headed out to dinner, each having achieved something gratifying in the session, even Warrick. Anne-Marie videoed some of these antics on her phone, so it's not impossible one or two might get posted here; don't hold your breath, though.

After all the excitement, it took me hours to get to sleep. Then someone phoned me at 4.30, number withheld. Lying awake once more, I told myself that if it was anything important they'd phone back on the landline. They didn't. Still, it didn't do much for my nocturnal rest.

Today, despite pressures all round, things at work looked a lot less critical. Even not-sleeping on things obviously has its benefits. Take note.

In other, unrelated, news, I'm once again considering a return to education. There are hints, as yet nebulous and untested, that, despite my ruminations a couple of years back, it may just be possible to come to some kind of part-time arrangement with APT. I'm not banking on it -- at least I hope I'm not -- but it's a nice thought.

Bioinformatics, since you ask. Something of a change of direction, admittedly, but if there's one thing you can say about my career path to date it's that it's been pretty directionless. Why change the habits of a lifetime?

I realise this is not much of a guiding principle, but it's all I've ever had:

I get bored easily.
Posted by matt at March 23, 2006 02:07 AM